For what its worth, the impact on yer head from falling off a bike at tootle-down-the-drive speed is the same as falling off yer high chair, or tripping over that carelessly discarded bourbon crate.
Thats because the acceleration due to gravity is the vector that gives your head energy when it hits the ground. The energy due to the horizontal movement of the bike is negligible.
In a motorcycle crash at high speed, the same actually applies, if your head hits the ground.
The energy associated with your horizontal movement becomes important if you hit a wall or lamp-post or another vehicle.
Thats why helmets don't really help closed head (brain) injuries very much - the deceleration of the head overcomes any ability of a helmet to assist at anything other than modest horozontal speeds, or falls from small distances.
Helmets, however, even leather and cork ones like grandad wore, are very very good at protecting you from open head injuries. But they seldom turn you into a vegetable.
The bottom line ? If you are really concerned about head and spinal injuries, wear a helmet, it wont do any harm, and it statistically reduces your chances of a brain injury by 0.35.
On the other hand, hopping on a motorcycle increased your chances of injury by 25-35 times, depending on what you read.
So really, a Volvo might be better if you really want to be safe.
David must play fair with the other kids, even the idiots.
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Originally Posted by NZKTM
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